"Nuclear Panic" in Russia

11/15/04 | vanity

[genefromjersey]

(Source : ProMed

Reactor #2 at the Balakovskaya nuclear power plant,near Saratov,Russia,shut down on Thursday,11/11/04 after a water pipe burst. There was no radioactive release;however,some residents reported seeinga white cloud over the reactor,while others reported the presence of vehicles with military license plates in the area.A panic began.

Residents jammed telephone lines.Radio stations began broadcasting "helpful advice" on how residents could protect themselves.

Greenpeace activists flooded into the area,handing out pamphlets,that warned of the danger from nuclear reactors,and urged residents to begin takin iodine as soon as possible.Radio stations began "updating" their advice with Greenpeace materials.

Frightened Saratov residents ignored repeated assurances by the government that there had been no radiation leak,and that there was not going to be another Cherynobl.Who trusts the government in Russia ?

Local pharmacies were "stormed" by anxious residents,who "cleared the shelves" of iodine,iodine-rich medicines,and vitamin preparations containing traces of iodine.Flea market vendors began selling iodine to panicky customers at 10 Rubles per drop...and soon ran out of supplies.

The alarm spread into neighboring Tarabov,Penza,Ulyanovski,and the Nizhny Novogrod region,and to the more distant Astrakhan and Rostov.

On Saturday,11/13/04,the reactor was re-started without incident...but several people had to be admitted to area hospitals because of iodine poisoning.

"Trace amounts" of iodine are found in a proper diet-especially in seafoods-but ingestion of iodine in anything but trace amounts can have very serious consequences:burned mouth and esophagal tissues,closing of the esophagus,intestinal damage,delerium,stupor,and death.

(Just the sort of "small detail" those hungry for Media attention,and those willing to accomodate them,are apt to omit !)

[Gibtx]

do not go there...... they dont ever tell you what really happend until its to late

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Frightened Saratov residents ignored repeated assurances by the government that there had been no radiation leak,and that there was not going to be another Cherynobl. Who trusts the government in Russia?

Cherynobl demonstrated the impact of secretive government on the wellbeing of the citizens - and those people have no experience of trustworthy public officials. Not only so, but the same government also controlled the newspapers at that time.

We face the opposite problem - the journalists and other Democrats find it profitable to pump up the same sort of hysteria, on any opportunity or on no basis at all. Alar, global warming, revival of the draft, abolition of Social Security - you name it. As far as they are concerned there always has to be something to raise alarums over.

[Nov3]

A LINK WOULD BE NICE.

[genefromjersey]

I don't do links.

You'd have to look up the ProMed site and search for archived reports for 11/04 under iodine poisoning.

[Free Trapper]

Greenpeace was quick to fan the flames of panic,sounds like.

[Nov3]

Don't be doing untrue posts then.

[genefromjersey]

What's with the "untrue" ? Look the website up for yourself (as I did)and check out the story.You'll have to work for it a little.

[Nov3]

I did. It is not there